Crafting a Book: Photography

First of all, thank you all so much for your kind comments about my new patterns! If you haven’t entered the giveaway yet, make sure to click over before tomorrow evening, and check out the rest of the supplies giveaways linked up at Sew, Mama, Sew!

Images from CB2 and Restoration Hardware

I’ve been working on a new tutorial, and had the unenviable task of taking decent how-to photos during the darkest month of the year. This has made me appreciate even more the fact that professional photographers will be working on the photos for the book.

Late last month, I had the (fun!) task of distilling inspiration for the photography for the book. Specifically, these photos will be the staged “glamor shots” of the quilts, and I can’t wait to see what my photographer, Nissa Brehmer, will come up with!

Nissa wrote to me  asking for some stylistic guidance for the photographs. I included some design guidance in the package of final materials that I sent to C&T in November, but I had really concentrated on the book design (layout, fonts, colors, etc.) when compiling it. It was a bit of an adjustment to start focusing on photographs themselves, but once I got the general idea it was great fun to go through the photos of various retailers and designers I love and analyze their styling, use of props and color, and basic photographic style.

Nissa included an enormously helpful list of ideas in her initial email, which helped me pinpoint the specific styles that I gravitate to most (and label them in a way that C&T’s photographers will easily understand). Turns out I’m a sparse eclectic modernist. I think. Or maybe I’m a eclectic modern traditionalist? At least I know for sure that I’m not country. Except for those photos I asked for that incorporate barns…

I ended up collecting a lot of online photos to include in a mood board for Nissa and her staff. I hope they don’t look at them and think my design sense is all over the place! I was aiming to communicate a unified sense of style that went beyond what I can describe in words. Of course, there were also plenty of words–I also hope they don’t think I’m too demanding.

I’m a classic Type-A personality, so the extent to which I’m enjoying the collaborative process of making a book has been a pleasant surprise to me. I’m excited to get my work into the hands of others and see how they interpret and run with it. I have a feeling that, even if the photos don’t turn out exactly how I envision them, they will teach me something about the quilts I design and make, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn from them!

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